I am here to tell you, from experience, that chicken math is a real thing. You say it won't happen to you, but chicken math has a way of sneaking up on even the most steadfast of chicken keepers. Chicken math is a phenomenon that happens to nearly every chicken owner. It cannot be explained, it cannot be understood and there is no cure. Chicken math is a way to calculate the total loss of self-control when it comes to your flock. It starts innocently with a desire for 2-3 hens in the backyard to help provide delicious eggs for your family. Next, you're looking at large coops, adding swings for your chickens and before you know it you've got a flock of 30 tiny raptors. A simple trip to the feed store is dangerous. The sound of the chicks draws you to the bins of fowl. Most trips I can contain myself. Others not so easily. Inevitably I bring new one’s home. It’s a condition we all find ourselves in.
Chicken math explained. If you have 2 chickens at home, and you bring home 3 baby chicks, you might think you now have 5 chickens. Traditional math says 2 +3 = 5. For the first 10 to 15 chickens this works out OK. When things start to change is at about 15 or so chickens, you will likely start to gradually see a necessity to use chicken math. They say chickens are the gateway to farming. For me it was the opposite. We started with dwarf goats then to donkeys and ducks. Then we evolved into chicken owners. First it was a couple of hens that turned into roosters. There went my eggs for breakfast, so we bought two more. Then we started buying from farmers downsizing. We added Guinea and more ducks. Then we got geese and turkeys. It’s a gateway drug to more and more fowl. I have enough chickens to meet my egg customers’ needs and my own. Now I want peacocks and bees. Don’t ask that’s just how it works.
I spend my mornings shared among all our farm animals. I have my morning coffee with all my gals in and out of the coop. Each of our animals has their own name and place in our hearts. I started out as the crazy goat lady and now I am the crazy chicken lady. A title I hold proudly. When you want a few chickens, you end up with many chickens. They will fill your day and heart with happiness and love. Their little personalities are a joy to behold. I can’t imagine a day without them. So, here’s to chicken math and may the flock be with you.
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